McQueen, Nathaniel (Doc)

 

 (1911 – 1993) Nathaniel “Doc” McQueen over the course of his life in Punta Gorda became one of the area’s largest landowners, owning the lands which are now the locations of Punta Gorda Isles and the Punta Gorda Airport.  He was instrumental in expanding the area’s cattle business and the citrus industry and in bringing the ornamental plant industry to the region.  He contributed generously to the growth and development of the community, serving on Punta Gorda’s City Council while donating all his salary to purchase playground equipment for Gilchrist Park.

A rancher who worked with cattle pioneers such as Luther Koon and A.C. Frizzell, he was also active in the business community, serving as first Vice President on what became Sun Bank.  He was also on the Board of the Methodist Church and an active member of the Kiwanis Club and Punta Gorda Masonic Lodge.  He worked with Lou Calder to make possible the city’s first library and the Boy Scout Building on the waterfront. 

 “Doc” McQueen, born in 1911, was the son of Dr. David Norman McQueen and Amy Holderby McQueen.  “Doc” was a nickname acquired as he traveled around southwest Florida with his physician father.  Growing up in Punta Gorda, he became an Eagle Scout - member of Troop 5, and graduated from Charlotte High School in 1929, first in his class. 

After graduating from North Carolina State University in 1934 with a degree in Agricultural Economics and Animal Husbandry, he was employed by the State Livestock and Sanitary Board.  He led the tick eradication program for the Texas Fever Tick that was threatening all the livestock and animal life in Florida.  Then in 1935 he was appointed Charlotte County Agricultural Extension Agent, a position he held until his retirement in 1966, except for a brief tenure with the 4H Division of the University of Florida.  During that time he brought in new and improved grasses, cleared pasture lands and improved nutritional elements to help greatly expand the cattle industry in Florida. 

He was an active member of the local Cattleman’s Association and was recognized for being a “Pioneer in the Florida Cattle Industry.”  “Doc” was also instrumental in getting former U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace to help with experimental work for the Gladiolus Growers Association in the County. 

He was married to the former Margaret Brabson, who was a teacher in Punta Gorda, and had two sons Robert “Bucky” and John David McQueen.